Evidently, everyone is experiencing a bad year for ticks, as I have received several emails and read many more comments on social media about them. Unfortunately, not all of what I see or hear is true, so let’s take a moment to talk about ticks and dispel a few rumors and half-truths.READ

This holiday season, you better watch out — for ticks. Unusually high fall temperatures in the northeastern United States have let blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), also known as deer ticks, remain active later into December than usual. READ

Amanda Palmer, the outspoken rock star and former Dresden Dolls singer, had planned to spend a relaxing week in Maine with her husband, award-winning author Neil Gaiman, but ended up in the hospital. READ

Tick diseases are exploding. Reports of tick-borne Lyme disease, a problem in the northern tier of states, have increased more than 100 percent in the past 10 years, making it the the most common vector-borne disease in the U.S. READ